9.  The applicant was born in 1961 and lives in Slovenj Gradec.
10. On 4 and 5 April 1995 a Special Unit (Specialna enota), which was under the direct control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (“the MIA”) in cooperation with officers from the Slovenj Gradec Internal Affairs Administration (Uprava za notranje zadeve – hereinafter referred as the “Slovenj Gradec Police”) undertook a large-scale operation against the activities of a criminal organisation presumed to be operating on the territory of the town of Slovenj Gradec.
11.  On 4 April 1995 the officers twice entered a coffee bar in Slovenj Gradec, called “Pik Bar”, searching for members of the above-mentioned criminal organisation. In parallel to the investigation of the Pik Bar, the police carried out an extensive operation in the town and its surroundings.
12.  On 5 April 1995 at about 8.30 p.m. the applicant, driving a car, was arrested in Slovenj Gradec by officers of the Special Unit and the Slovenj Gradec Police. He was brought to the Slovenj Gradec Police Station for having allegedly failed to comply with the police orders. He was questioned by the police and released on 6 April 1995 at approximately half past midnight.
13.  There are two conflicting versions of what occurred during the police procedure and the transport to the police station.
14.  According to his submissions before the Court and the statements he gave in the relevant domestic proceedings, the applicant was driving through the centre of Slovenj Gradec on the evening of 5 April 1995 when at least two cars overtook him and forced him to stop. Approximately fifteen armed officers, wearing black jackets, arrived at the scene, some of whom approached the applicant. They were shouting and the applicant, still sitting in the car but attempting to step out, put his hands up. At that moment, the officers dragged him out of the car. They pushed him to the ground, tied him up, took off his shoes, dragged him by his legs approximately 25-30 meters along the road into a dark area where they beat and kicked him for some 15 minutes. After someone had said “he’s had enough, he’s had enough”, the applicant was placed in an off-road vehicle and taken to the police station. On the way there, a journey which lasted approximately 30 minutes, two officers, sitting in the front of the car, threatened to kill him and one of them electro-prodded him several times with a stun gun. At the police station, he was put in the room for provisional detention (prostor za pridržanje) where one of the officers untied him at his request. The applicant was questioned and told that he had failed to comply with the police order to stop his vehicle. He was then released.
In the meantime, the police also searched the applicant’s car.
15.  About thirty people were arrested and injured during the two-day operation.
16.  According to the version of events given by the Government, the police noticed a car moving at high speed. Since the conduct of the driver looked suspicious, the police decided to stop the car, to identify the driver and to perform a preventative search. For this reason, they drove after the car. The driver accelerated, prompting the police to force him to stop.
17.  When the driver, who was later identified as the applicant, stopped the car, an unspecified number of the Special Unit’s officers confronted him and informed him that this was a police procedure. The applicant jumped towards one of the officers and attempted to hit him. The officer managed to block his blow and then with the other officers forced the applicant to lean against his car in order to search him. The applicant struggled free and escaped.
18.  When the officers caught him, the applicant again tried to resist and they responded by using truncheons and gripped his elbow to handcuff him, knocking him down in the process. Since the applicant continued to resist, the officers tied his wrists with a plastic cord. They subsequently took him to the police station on suspicion of committing the criminal offence of “obstructing an official in the course of his duties” (preprečitev uradnega dejanja uradni osebi). The applicant was released after questioning.
19.  The officers were authorised to use force on the basis of section 54 of the Internal Affairs Act. During the operation, they wore vests with the visible sign “Police” (“Policija”). In their later submissions, they stated that only two officers had used force against the applicant.
20.   During the police procedure, the applicant did not request medical aid and the police only afterwards learned that he had sustained injuries. In addition, he did not complain about the conduct of the officers during the procedure.
21.  The judgment of 12 February 2001 issued in the proceedings instituted against the applicant (see paragraph 48), established that three officers of the Slovenj Gradec Police, D.P., J.K. and M.F., who were in the car which stopped the applicant, received information about the location of a “white Golf”, believed to be being driven by the applicant, and an order to stop it.
22.  Officer J.K. testified in the criminal investigation instituted against the applicant, that they had received information that the “white Golf” had left “the place”, which meant that it had left Pik Bar. He was not able to comment on the speed of the applicant’s car. In addition, he stated that by the time a minute had gone by after the applicant was stopped, there were already four or five vehicles of the Slovenj Gradec Police and the Special Unit at the scene and that three or four officers arrived in each vehicle.
23.  Officer M.F. stated in the same criminal investigation:
“We had information about individuals who were suspected members of that [criminal] organisation, and one of them was Aleksander Matko, whom I did not know since I am from Maribor, but I knew him from photographs. (...) We were on one of the streets of Slovenj Gradec when we received information that the car of Aleksander Matko had been seen and that our colleagues had tried to stop him, but he would not stop despite warnings.”
24.  Officer D.P. explained in his testimony in the above mentioned criminal investigation:
“At the critical time, we were conducting, in the territory of Slovenj Gradec Police, an operation to investigate organised crime. (...) In front of the Hotel Pohorje, a group of people was noticed which included M.A. and Aleksander Matko. One of the police patrols noticed that M.A. left with the motorcycle and they also saw when Aleksander Matko drove away. In fact, everything happened very quickly (...). We placed vehicles at different locations (...). Our official vehicle, which I was driving, received a message that a white Golf was being driven by a person believed to be Aleksander Matko (...). We decided to stop him in order to search the car since there was a suspicion that he was armed.”
25.  Another officer from the Slovenj Gradec Police, I.G., who had arrived at the scene with the officers of the Special Unit and was also questioned in the criminal investigation, stated that there were 20 officers of the Special Unit and Slovenj Gradec Police at the scene, and that five of them had had direct contact with the applicant.
 
 
(b)  Medical evidence
26.  On 6 April 1995, soon after his release, the applicant was admitted to the Slovenj Gradec General Hospital where he stayed until 7 p.m. The medical report, written by a doctor in that hospital, stated that the applicant had bruises on his head, but did not include any details of the injuries. The applicant was advised to rest for a few days.
27.  Next day, 7 April 1995, the applicant sought medical aid in the Maribor General Hospital. There, he also explained to a doctor that on 5 April 1995 he had been beaten by unknown armed persons. The medical report of 7 April 1995 indicates several lesions, including:
-bruises on the right eye and a small amount of suffusion in the surrounding area;
-a haematoma on the left side of the forehead
-a painful nose;
-a 6 cm by 4 cm haematoma on the left shoulder;
-two 4-5 cm linear skin abrasions on the left side of the thorax;
-a child’s-hand-sized moderate oedema behind the right ear;
-an extensive haematoma on the left thigh.
The doctors had also suspected a fracture of the right temporal bone. The report of an x-ray examination on 19 April 1995 indicated that there was a hairline fracture (fissura).
28.  On 7 April 1995 the applicant went to the Slovenj Gradec Police and made an oral complaint against the officers of the Special Unit concerning the events of 5 April 1995. A written statement was prepared by the officer in charge and signed by the applicant.
In his statement, the applicant alleged that about eight to ten officers had dragged him to the metallic fence of the construction site behind the Slovenj Gradec Health Centre where they had beaten him, shouted at him and threatened to kill him. He further stated that while being driven to the police station he had been beaten again, and given electric shocks with the special truncheons. He had not known where the police were driving since his head was pointing downwards the whole way. He also described the injuries he had sustained during the police procedure.
29.  On 15 May 1995 the applicant lodged, through his lawyer, a written criminal complaint (kazenska ovadba) with the Slovenj Gradec Police against unidentified police officers for causing minor bodily harm (lahka telesna poškodba) and an unlawful deprivation of liberty (protipraven odvzem prostosti). The complaint mentions the names of two officers, D.P. and J.K., who were present at the scene but not involved in the alleged ill-treatment. The applicant proposed that the names of the officers who had allegedly ill-treated him be obtained from those officers and that criminal proceedings be introduced.
30.  On 15 June 1995 the Slovenj Gradec District Public Prosecutor’s Office (Okrožno državno tožilstvo) asked the applicant’s lawyer to add his client’s deposition to the file, which he did on 20 June 1995. On 21 October 1996 and 6 January 1997 the applicant’s lawyer sought information from the Public Prosecutor’s Office about the state of progress in the proceedings.
31.  In the meantime, on 14 July 1995, the Slovenj Gradec District Public Prosecutor (the “Public Prosecutor”) requested the Slovenj Gradec Police to identify the officers who had participated in the procedure against the applicant and to conduct an interview with them. Subsequently, two reports concerning the relevant police operation were submitted to the Public Prosecutor: one by the MIA on 15 November 1995 and one by the Slovenj Gradec Police on 5 February 1996. They are each approximately one page and a half long and their content corresponds to the facts as submitted by the Government.
32.  It transpires from the MIA’s report that, on 20 April 1995, the MIA had appointed a “working group” (delovna skupina) consisting of officers from the Slovenj Gradec Police and the MIA to assess the lawfulness of the procedures carried out by the Special Unit and the Slovenj Gradec Police. The Court has not received any documents produced or obtained by this working group, except the above-mentioned MIA report. The latter, which under the “subject” (zadeva) refers solely to the criminal offence allegedly committed by the applicant, reads as follows:
“Further to the analysis of procedures and activities which had taken place on 4 and 5 April 1995, the working group established that all the measures and procedures were lawful and in accordance with legal powers and professional rules.
(...)
The procedure against Aleksander Matko was carried out by criminal investigators D.P., J.K., M.F, T.G, I.G. and officers of the MIA’s Special Unit, who were headed by M.J (...). 
On 5 April 1995, at 20.30, Aleksander Matko actively resisted the lawful procedure against him with the intention of preventing criminal police investigators from performing their official duties. Since their official duty could not be carried out otherwise, physical force and handcuffs were used against Matko in accordance with police powers.
From the facts described above and from the contents of the criminal complaint [lodged against the applicant] it is evident that there exists a reasonable suspicion [utemeljeni sum] that Matko Aleksander on 5 April at 20.30 committed the criminal offence of obstructing an official in the course of his duties within the meaning of section 302/II of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Slovenia.
(...)
The criminal complaint of the Slovenj Gradec Police states that Aleksander Matko sustained injuries as a result of the use of force. (...) On the basis of the facts, stated in the Slovenj Gradec Police’s criminal complaint, there are no grounds for suspicion that the officers of the special working group of the Criminal Police Directorate [the officers of the Slovenj Gradec Police and the Special Unit] committed the alleged criminal offences (...)”
33.  The Slovenj Gradec Police report finds, inter alia, that D.P. and J.K. stopped the applicant’s car and that the Special Unit’s officers were under the command of M.J. It explains that the Head of the Special Unit was authorised to give statements concerning the procedure of the Special Unit.
34.  On 17 January 1997 the Public Prosecutor issued a decision dismissing the applicant’s criminal complaint. It was served on the applicant’s lawyer on 22 January 1997.
35.  In the decision the Public Prosecutor identified D.P., J.K. and M. J. as the officers accused in the applicant’s complaint. After giving a summary of the applicant’s allegations, the Public Prosecutor concluded:
 “In the course of the proceedings, the additional information concerning the above-mentioned criminal complaint by the Slovenj Gradec Police and the MIA – Office of the Minister – were obtained. This enabled it to be established that the above-mentioned officers, all employees of the MIA, had participated in the procedure against the applicant.
It would appear from the already mentioned report of the MIA – Office of the Minister – that the employees of the MIA acted in accordance with their powers.
In addition, on 17 January 1997, a request for an investigation against Matko Aleksander was lodged with the investigating judge in the Slovenj Gradec District Court, for, among other matters, obstructing an official in the course of his duties (...).
In view of the above considerations, the accused D.P., J.K. and M.J. acted in the framework of their duties and powers, which they have as employees of the MIA, and therefore there is no reasonable suspicion (utemeljeni sum) that they committed the alleged criminal offences (...).
For those reasons, the criminal complaint must be dismissed.”
36.  The decision drew the applicant’s attention to his right to initiate a criminal prosecution as a subsidiary prosecutor (see paragraphs 55 and 58 below) within 8 days. He did not avail himself of this opportunity.
37.  On 12 April 1995 the Slovenj Gradec Police lodged a criminal complaint against the applicant for the criminal offence of “obstructing an official in the course of his duties” under section 302, paragraph 4-1 of the Slovenian Criminal Code, which referred to the same incident as the applicant’s criminal complaint.
38.  On 17 January 1997 the Public Prosecutor requested the Slovenj Gradec District Court to open a criminal investigation against the applicant. It appears that her request was based on the above-mentioned reports of the MIA and the Slovenj Gradec Police (see paragraphs 31-33).
39.  On 8 April 1997 the investigating judge questioned the applicant. The applicant denied having committed any offence and complained that he had been beaten and ill-treated by the police. He pointed out that he had medical reports proving his injuries. The reports were included in the file.
40.  On 8 May 1997, further to a proposal of the investigating judge, the Slovenj Gradec District Court decided not to open a criminal investigation against the applicant. The court pointed out, inter alia, that the officers who were allegedly attacked by the applicant had not been identified and that the Ministry’s report, stating that a special operation for the investigation of serious crimes was in progress at that time, and the Public Prosecutor’s request for the investigation, which stated that the applicant was arrested because of his excessive speed, were contradictory.
41.  On 12 May 1997 the Public Prosecutor appealed against this decision. On 4 December 1997 the Maribor Higher Court upheld her appeal finding that, despite the shortcomings mentioned in the first-instance decision, there were sufficient grounds for suspicion that the applicant had committed the alleged offence. Accordingly, it changed the first-instance court’s decision and opened a criminal investigation against the applicant.
42.  Between 19 February 1998 and 10 March 1998 the investigating judge interviewed five officers from the Slovenj Gradec Police who had participated in the operation, the officer M.J., who had been responsible for the officers of the Special Unit, and A.K., who had allegedly witnessed the incident.
When asked to comment on the applicant’s allegations, the officers either denied the alleged ill-treatment or stated that they could not have seen the events well enough. A.K. testified in favour of the applicant, saying that he had not resisted but had been seriously beaten by the officers.
43.  On 17 March 1998 the criminal investigation was concluded with the investigating judge’s decision ordering the exclusion of certain documents from the case-file in accordance with section 83, paragraph 3, of the Criminal Procedure Act. It is not known when that decision was served on the applicant.
44.  On 28 December 1998 the Public Prosecutor filed an indictment against the applicant for “attempting to obstruct an official in the course of his duties” (poskus kaznivega dejanja preprečitve uradnega dejanja uradni osebi).
45.  On 27 January 1999 the applicant filed an objection to the indictment. He pointed out that he had been ill-treated and referred to the statements he had previously given in the proceedings. He also mentioned that he had lodged an application with the Court. His objection was rejected by the Slovenj Gradec District Court on 16 February 1999.
46.  On 13 September 1999 and 22 November 1999 the Slovenj Gradec District Court held hearings. The court heard the applicant, and all the officers who had been questioned in the investigation and A.K.
By a judgment of 22 November 1999 the court acquitted the applicant. The court, acknowledging that the applicant had sustained injuries on the relevant day, concluded that there had been “physical contact” between the applicant and the officers. The court, however, found that it had not been proven that the applicant had physically resisted the officers as described in the indictment since none of the Special Unit’s officers who had had physical contact with the applicant had been identified and there were no documents describing the conduct of the applicant after he had been stopped.
47.  On 5 January 2000 the Public Prosecutor appealed against the judgment and on 27 September 2000 the Maribor Higher Court quashed the judgment and remitted the case to a new panel for retrial.
48.  During the retrial, hearings were held on 15 December and 12 February 2001. At the second hearing the court heard a new witness, D.Č., at the applicant’s request.
By a judgment of 12 February 2001, the Slovenj Gradec District Court convicted the applicant as charged and sentenced him to 3 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 3 years. The court found:
“Although it was not known which officers of the Special Unit were involved in the procedure after the applicant’s car had been stopped, the officers questioned sufficiently described the acts and the order of events as observers. They could also not have been influenced by anything and therefore they could be entirely trusted. On the contrary, it was impossible to trust either of the witnesses A.K. and D.Č., since it clearly transpires from their testimony that they knew the applicant well; they also confirmed that they knew him. Although the first witness was able to describe the events immediately after the operation, D.Č.’s testimony was unclear and biased in favour of the accused since he said that the officers had beaten the accused with truncheons all over his body and shouted, while it transpired from the medical documentation that he sustained injuries only on the upper part of the body, which is usual for this sort of measure.
The conduct of the accused (...) undoubtedly shows (...) all the elements of the criminal offence (...) since his conduct undoubtedly represented an active form of resistance against the police officers and force was also directed against the officers, though the latter in the interest of protecting the data concerning employees of the Special Unit were not questioned. In any event, given the sufficiently convincing testimony of witnesses questioned in the proceedings – police officers – questioning of the employees of the Special Unit was not necessary (...). ”
The court also found that the applicant had not injured any of the officers involved.
49.  On 12 March 2001 the Public Prosecutor appealed against this judgment and applied for a heavier sentence. The applicant also appealed.
On 9 May 2001 the Maribor Higher Court upheld the conviction but amended the judgment with respect to the costs of the proceedings. The applicant did not appeal to the Supreme Court.
50.  Lastly, on 11 October 2001 the Slovenj Gradec District Court ordered the applicant to pay an additional sum to cover the costs of one of the witnesses heard during the proceedings. On that day, the proceedings were “finally concluded” (pravnomočno končan postopek).